Democrats question Hawley vote

Missouri Democrats on Tuesday questioned Attorney General Josh Hawley's decision to vote last week in a Boone County special election.

The Boone County Clerk's office told the News Tribune over the weekend Hawley voted in the Aug. 8 special election from a residence on East Missouri 163, which is between Ashland and Columbia.

At issue is a state law defining the attorney general's duties and responsibilities, including: "The attorney general shall reside at the seat of government and keep his office in the supreme court building," and Missouri's Constitution defines the "seat of government" as Jefferson City.

A state election law that defines voters notes: "Any person who is qualified to vote shall be entitled to register in the jurisdiction within which he or she resides."

When the issue first was raised earlier this year, Hawley said in February he was renting a two-bedroom apartment within Jefferson City's limits and planned to "stay there as needed to make it a true personal residence (for legal purposes)," while emphasizing his primary home would remain in Columbia.

"Attorney General Josh Hawley, our state's top law enforcement official, is either lying to Missourians about where he lives or voting in a county in which he does not legally reside," Missouri Democratic Party Communications Director Meira Bernstein said in a statement to the News Tribune and the Associated Press.

"Either way, it is concerning that Josh Hawley seems to think the law doesn't apply to him."

The AP noted Tuesday that Deputy Attorney General Michael Martinich-Sauter in January provided Hawley with a legal analysis contending Hawley is complying with the state law, because his home is within "ordinary commuting distance" of Jefferson City.

Hawley has said the drive takes about 17-20 minutes.

Martinich-Sauter's analysis compared Hawley's residency status to state employees who commute to the Capitol Complex from other areas of Jefferson City or other areas of Cole County.

Those other state employees aren't required by law to live in Jefferson City - and the attorney general is the only one of Missouri's six statewide elected officeholders who is mandated by law to reside inside Jefferson City's corporate limits.

Hawley in February accused Democrats of creating a "sideshow issue" by raising the question.

The Missouri Republican Party didn't respond to a request for comment for this story.

Hawley, a Republican who was elected attorney general last November by a more than 467,000-vote margin over Democrat Teresa Hensley, has formed an exploratory committee for a possible U.S. Senate race against incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill.

But he has committed to, nor officially entered, that race.